Christians should not participate in Presidential popularity polls

a replica of the famous Christ the Redeemer statue of Jesus Christ on June 7, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Bill Clinton is the most popular living President; according to a June 20 article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek. The elder (George) Bush finished second in the poll. Barrack Obama finished last. The article points out that Presidents typically gain in popularity once they leave office.

Some Christians view such polls as divisive. They felt that any answer given would fit the biblical concept of a “house divided.” The article does not outline the criteria for judging, and it is hard to identify any criteria that would align with the Bible. If, for example, the criteria were sin; then who could be declared most favorable? The Bible says that there is no one without sin.

If your criteria were providing for the “least of these:” who would win the Biblical vote? The delta between those with plenty and those with hardly any continues to grow. The Bible speaks to one of the things that God hates is feet that are swift to sow discord amongst the brethren. Isn’t that the very nature of Presidential campaigns?

One Christian felt that polls are “dangerous in nature,” and should be avoided. “These polls are not popularity contests; they are judgments. How do you esteem one above or below the other? The Bible warns us about the impact of judging. The Bible also tells us how we are to forgive. If you or I are taking these things from the past and using them to critique someone in the present; then you are on the wrong side of the Bible in both forgiveness and judging.”

We as a country award popularity and praise based in large part on who we are judging. There is little attention given to unforeseen circumstances. That decision is almost always based on a point in time, and pays little attention to the entire body of work. Given this, should Christians view such polls as judging and not participate in them?

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Stephen Thomas has been a member of Corinthian Baptist Church in Hamtramck, Michigan for the past 25 years, and teaching for 20 of those years. He is currently teaching Bible classes in Chicago, Illinois.
Stephen has a Master’s Degree from Central Michigan University. Stephen has also studied world religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Hare Krishna, and atheism.
Stephen believes that the Holy Bible is the word of God written by, inspired by God, infallible, and complete.